The final fight
by Radicelle
Summary: May got his letter. She knew what he planned, she knew how he felt, but she wasn't going to let him slip out so easily!


May's throat was tight and dry. The ominous feeling filling the air unsettled her.

How had they got to that point?

Getting all the badges, locking Groudon and Kyogre back into their eternal slumber, defeating Magma and Aqua… Those were nothing next to the question that haunted her. Mainly, why in the name of Arceus was Steven Stone the region's champion if the man was this useless?

Of course she wasn't a native, and didn't know who the champion before him was, or even how long the previous champion was in title. But there was something about this man that sent her blood down to a boiling fury.

She always met him frolicking around, not giving any interest to things besides semi-mysteries which answers he already had, or stones he already knew about. He wasn't serious one bit about his title; she felt it in the bottom of her mind.

But you weren't just titled champion for kicks and giggles, dammit!

You needed to beat everyone around the region and go on your own to take the league challenge: the first part at least was understandable for such a rock freak, but actually going and beating the champion when you don't want anything to do with the title… That was Miltank shit!

Taking a decided step down the dim-lighted corridor, she noticed the lights increased ever so slightly each time her foot touched the floor. Why even bother with decorum when you weren't here most of the time? Tch, she really needed to kick this guy's ass to shove the lesson deep into his sturdy brain.

Finally getting to the door, she shoved it open and rushed into the room. She didn't even care that everything was made to remember of the champion's theme and in really poor taste too.

"Steven!" She barked, "Whip out you poké balls and get ready to get your ass handed back to daddy! I'll get you out of here by 4 o'clock!"

His idiotic self was standing on the other end of the platform, in this thinking pose he took each time he wanted to close people out: his arms brought before him, his chin propped on his hands. The physical proof of his disdain for his peers, the only time he couldn't maintain his act of smiling and –almost – caring.

"May, I wasn't expecting you so soon. How did it go in Victory Road?"

"No chit-chat, just fight. Now" Saying that she dragged one of her Pokémon out.

"No reminder of the rules? Not even setting the Pokémon number? How brazen."

"Quit playing around. We'll do a 6vs6, like we're supposed to. I won't let you get out the easy way; you'll have to be utterly crushed before I can get some rest."

"Fine, fine I got it."

He sent out Metagross, to which May replied with an angry noise.

"You're supposed to act as usual, champion Steven. Metagross isn't the one you draw first."

Of course, she had sent Blaziken first, so he would send the one Pokémon she could outspeed and that had crippling weaknesses against the fire rooster.

"Am I not allowed to change?"

"Isn't it a bit late to be innovative?" She snapped back. "I mean, it surely would have been useful about a month ago."

The champion showed no intent of calling back Metagross and just stood there, waiting for her to attack.

"Fine," She replied to his inactivity, irked. "Blaziken, use flame thrower!"

Without even a word needing to be said, Steven's Metagross dodged the attack, replying with a flare of psychic power. The fire Pokémon tried a roundabout approach, but was kept at distance by the intimidating opponent. The room's pavement was levitating, ready to smash Blaziken.

"At least you go all out."

Arms along her body, foot brought inside, May's stance betrayed her uneasiness. It wasn't so much that she was thinking of a way to get inside Metagross' defenses, but more that something didn't click right in the whole ordeal.

She could always buy time and wait for Blaziken to have enough speed to go past the flying bricks unnoticed and strike right through.

"Why wouldn't I?" He replied starkly.

In lieu of answer, May brought up her arm and shouted defiantly, "Blaziken! Jump on the flagstones!"

The fire Pokémon launched itself forward, building momentum. Metagross replied by putting the stones on movement, trying to build a wall around itself.

"Go higher!"

Metagross brought downwards the higher stones; it didn't want to be stricken from up. Blaziken still tried to go higher, stepping on the wall when needed.

Steven looked annoyed that she wasn't attacking directly. Would he see right through her strategy? The thought passed through her mind, but she dismissed it quickly. She only needed a bit more of time.

The wall was almost done, and it was getting harder and harder for Blaziken to find a stepping stone with each second. Finally, only five stones were still up, and Metagross was hidden to the eyes behind a cylindrical wall.

"Go Blaziken! Finish him in one hit!"

And the fire rooster let itself fall freely from the stone, without any support under it to land. Steven made a move forward, surprised and ready to order Metagross to save it. His benevolence was short-lived: spinning on itself, Blaziken was gathering flames and speed. It used the walls as leverage and quickly bolted upright, aiming for Metagross from under. With a move from Steven, the psychic Pokémon brought up the last stones to cover the weak point in its defense, in time for Blaziken to hold it in a blazing crutch and swing its whole body on the wall. It bounced back and with a devastating kick aimed for the wall.

The stones weren't solid enough to stand the Pokémon's strength and were crushed to dust. Its kick landed brutally on Metagross, but not enough to one-shot it. However, the confined space didn't left the steel Pokémon much place to defend itself, and as Blaziken fired flames, it was helpless and let itself be burned to the knock-out.

The stones fell in disarray, Metagross following them quickly. May's Pokémon quickly jumped back on its trainer's platform, as Steven called back his Pokémon. The young female trainer gave the champion a smug smile. She had seen him take part in the battle, be involved in it.

"Send your next Pokémon, we're waiting."

Steven looked up to her with a wretched smile. The arena was as good as destroyed, but she knew there was a reset button somewhere that would bring the stones up. The fight could go on, so why make this sour face?

"There aren't any other Pokémon, May."

"What?" She let out, confused.

"You know I was going on a journey after this fight. I don't know what I'll do next, but I know I won't be able to take care of my Pokémon. I gave them to my father. I only kept Metagross with me, so it's already ended. You've won May, congratulations."

"What, wait! That's not how it's supposed to go!" She gave him a distressed look, arms trembling at her side. "You're the champion, Steven! There are rules! You can't just decide it's over, and that you'll only use one Pokémon from now on and all this crap you're saying!"

"But I knew you'd win. Why would I need to have five other Pokémon beat for that?"

Her brows furrowed, and her eyes were glowing with anger.

"Fine! You don't want to be the champion that much I had understood! But throwing away the match like that? Are you a coward, Steven Stone?"

He only sighed.

"Give me an answer, dammit!"

"Trainer May," He started, and she shot up her head, eyes full of hope. "You have won. By the power of the league, you are now Hoen's champion." Her expression turned to one of unbridled horror.

"But I don't want to be the champion! Steven, it's your role! I didn't come here for that!"

He smiled and fumbled in his pockets, getting a small device out. He pushed a button and the floor raised itself to its initial position.

"Steven!" Her voice was just a depressed cry.

"I know it wasn't your intention, but I need someone reliable to assume the position. It's better like that; I know you'll be a better champion than anyone."

Trembling on her feet, May was ready to collapse. She should have thought about the consequences of her acts. She had done exactly what he had expected her to do when she got his letter. Of course he wouldn't want to give the title to anyone: that would write him off as the worst champion on history. He really was the worst, but that wasn't the point. She knew that if she let him go, he would never come back here again.

It had hurt his pride, to be useless against the god-like Pokémon. He already didn't like his leader title to begin with, but to witness a young nameless trainer save the day on its own…

"You're a coward, Steven." She replied with a low voice. "You're trying to get away from here, just because something didn't get the way you wanted it to go. If you wanted to give up, you could simply have given up the title!"

Suddenly, she felt his hand on her shoulder. Shooting her head up, she stared through his eyes.

"Nothing is ever simple, May. There's no other way out of this for me. You know I'm finished as a trainer after all that happened."

"Who cares about what others think! It's not a reason to give up everything! Are you serious about leaving and never coming back, even to see your friends? Wallace doesn't even know where you've been for the past month, you didn't even tell him about your plans. Do you know how many times he called me to get news from you?"She was frantic. "He's your friend, Steven. How can you do that to him?"

"What makes you think I'll never come back?" He tried to say it laughingly, but it only came out as a half-hearted attempt to toss off the implications of his act. It was a social suicide, nothing more, nothing less.

"Your eyes." She replied, "You have the eyes of someone who will die soon, and wants to go agonize alone in a corner of the world. There's no way someone who is coming back would look like that."

He smiled softly.

"Well, you see right through me. But that's beside the point. I know you'll be there for him. Now, come with me, we have to register you."

He let go of her shoulder and got to the other side of the room. At the pantheon's door, he waited for her to catch up. She still hadn't moved. He called her name; she called Blaziken back to its poke ball and got up to him.

Just as they were passing the door, she punched him in the face and run to the pantheon. Surprised, he didn't move and didn't know what to do.

"That's for being a prick!" She called from her place before the computer; she started typing frantically, trying to register herself before he could come up and stop her. "I won't let you go, Steven Stone. If my only way to get you to stay is to become the champion, I'll do it; I'll be the one to go on an adventure alone, and to let everything behind. I won't let you the pleasure of feeling depressed in your pathetic existence, oh no. You're just a sad, sad man. If you were to be alone, you'd let yourself die out of boredom, I can't let you do that."

"Wait, what are you doing?"

With a final cry she pushed the "register" button.

"I'll be the one to go. If the people here can't gush over me, you'll be forced to stay. I never wanted to come to Hoen anyway." She looked decided. Steven didn't know how to react.

She got to the back door and flung it open, taking a poke ball out of her belt and releasing its content: a Pelipper let out a cry as it was released.

"Won't you be the one to let her friend alone?"

"The chances I make new friends are far higher than the chance a geology nerd over his twenties will ever make new friends, let alone find love. You're hopeless, Steven. You always need people to help you get things right." She smiled sourly. "I don't mind being one of those people, as long as I can prevent you from doing stupid things."

She hopped on Pelipper's back.

"My life here is barely a year old, yet I made great friends: Wallace, Timmy, Brice, Roxanne… Even you! But I have much more to live."

"Can't you imagine how people will live your departure?" He couldn't even move. Why were things turning like that?

"The same can be said about you, Steven." She replied, before flying off to the ocean.

* * *

><p>The news was still talking about her disappearance, even after all this time.<p>

Half a year and she hadn't been spotted anywhere.

Wallace had come to the league with her friends, all greatly distressed. She had gone and seen them all one last time before flying to the unknown, they had come for answers. They left without one.

But at the night's break, the water champion came back and forcibly dragged Steven back with him. He hadn't left Wallace's home since. Sure, reporters had tried to get in and harass him with questions, but his friend hadn't let them have their way.

It was now mid-december, and he felt a bit bad for leeching off his friend like that...

The entrance bell rung; he cast a glance outside: it was the postman. Getting up, he opened the door and receptionned the parcels. There was one for him, one for Wallace.

He waited for his friend to come back that night to open the parcel. Seeing who had sent it, Wallace made a face; he gave Steven a harsh look, but the silver-haired man didn't reply.

"I won't open it!" Wallace said before going to his room with anger, throwing his arms up. "Look what's in if you want, I've had enough childishness from both of you for the rest of my life."

Steven opened the one destined for him: at first glance it only contained the letter he had sent to May the last time. Digging more, he found some photos of a place he couldn't recognize. There was a small note with it, saying:

"I'm fine, how are you, blockhead? I hope you didn't put all my efforts to waste.

'Till next time, May."

Steven remembered the water champion's words when he had dragged him down to his home. Those harsh words asking why he would leave, why he hadn't talked to him of his problems. But one sentence had struck him: _"Why did you let her go because of you? What has been going through both of your heads, acting like it was the end of the world? You both haven't been acting normally lastely, but this is right down ridiculous!"_

He opened Wallace's parcel. It was much more filled: she had put in biscuits, dried exotic flowers, a long letter spanning on ten pages... Steven wondered how much exactly the others had received.

_"Honestly, I can't even understand why you started acting like that?"_ Of course he couldn't, he was so oblivious to anything besides his gym. Steven should have realised sooner, but he was away far too much to do so. Had she understood?

He began reading the letter.

"Hi Wallace!

I hope Steven didn't put too much of a fight after I left, though I would be surprised if he tried to follow me or to find me.

You know, I wanted to go explore the world anyway, so I'm not mad or anything. I would just have wanted a bit more time before throwing myself out in the world.

I'm having fun here, I hope the strain of taking care of the gym isn't too much to bear.

..."

She was starting to describe what she was doing. He skimmed through the pages, not paying too much attention to what she had written. The letter ended with "Love, May". So it seemed she hadn't understood yet.

_"You're both acting like lovesick teenagers. Why?" _Really, all those stings from him were rich: he was the source of the problem, after all. But he couldn't tell his friend his hug to the saviour of the region had started it all.


End file.
